THE PRIDE AND THE PASSION

Leith has a long history as a wine port. At The Vintners Rooms you can dine by candlelight in a sixteenth-century wine auction room, with nine hundred year-old wine cellars beneath your feet.

Bold, brash and - let's face it - occasionally brassy, Leith is famous for its nightlife centred on bars and bistros. But those looking for a more refined dining experience are also well catered for in this fast-expanding former port. Overlooking the water, on The Shore, the Michelin-starred Restaurant Martin Wishart has been playing to packed houses since 1999. And not far away in Henderson Street The Vintners Rooms Restaurant, run with pride and passion by the Franco-Italian partnership of chef Patrice Ginestière and maitre d' Silvio Praino, offers top-level Mediterranean cooking in the unique historical setting of The Vaults.

"A natural, honest style, light but with proper portions."

To appreciate these surroundings let's briefly rewind to the twelfth century: the year 1143, by which time the Abbey of Holyrood was founded and the religious orders responsible for the import of wine from France had established Leith as the centre of Scotland's wine trade. To store wine you need cellars - dry ones, safe from high tides. The four vaulted cellars beneath The Vintners Rooms date from that period, and have continued in use down the centuries. Fungus carried on wine barrels imported from Bordeaux still clings to the vaulting today, testament to the trade which sustained the Auld Alliance.

Fast forward to 1580, and the building which houses the present-day Vintners Rooms is now in place. It achieved its present form around 1739 when its exquisite hand-worked stucco was commissioned by the Edinburgh Vintners Guild, who used the room to taste, blend and auction wine drawn up from the vaults below. The lavishness of the design, and the skill of its execution, speak for the success of the Guild and of Leith itself.

But you didn't come here for a history lesson. You've come to enjoy some delicious food, served with respect for fine ingredients and embodying the best of Mediterranean cooking. The fact that you're sitting in a dining room illuminated entirely by candlelight and decorated in a Scottish interpretation of Renaissance style is very much part of the experience, but the food itself is the star of this show.

"The fact that you're sitting in a dining room illuminated entirely by candlelight and decorated in a Scottish interpretation of Renaissance style is very much part of the experience. But the food itself is the star of this show."

"We aim for a relaxed ambiance," Silvio explains, "and we are not about fast food. I was one of the first to promote the slow food movement in Scotland, in my Italian restaurant, Scalini, in Melville Place. Everything is cooked to order. We encourage people to take time to respect and savour the food they are eating, and enjoy it more as a result."

The Mediterranean cooking style aims to highlight the character and flavour of the principal ingredient in a dish. "Our style is natural and honest, not fussy," says Silvio. "There are no heavy sauces, so it's light, but with proper portions."

A native of Languedoc-Roussillon, Patrice Ginestière makes liberal use of traditional herbs and flavourings, but sources all ingredients locally, including herbs and wild mushrooms. Everything from the bread to the ice creams, confits and terrines is prepared in-house.

"Scotland produces so much good food," Silvio says. "The West of Scotland has the best seafood in Europe: scallops, oysters, mussels. The Spanish and the French buy it, so it must be good. Restaurants on the Continent are proud to write Aberdeen Angus and Scottish salmon on their menus, and so are we."

The list of 200 wines, a balance of French, Italian and New World offerings, is carefully composed with the help of Raeburn Fine Wines to provide quality at every price point. House wines start at an appealing £17. "Even in the lower price range we can find quality," Silvio says. And there is always something new to reward regular imbibers.

"We always aim for the very best we can do. If like us you have passion, if you have enthusiasm, people catch it. They enjoy their food more, and they come back again."

For dinner, expect to part with £25-£33 per head choosing from an à la carte menu offering six or more starters, six or seven mains and five desserts plus cheese. Lunch is a shorter menu, with three or four choices for each course. It will set you back £15.50 for two courses and £19 for three.

In addition to regular lunches and dinners The Vintners Rooms also caters for larger-scale family and business entertaining. It provides an ideal venue for business gatherings of 20-30 people, including for presentations. After which, delegates can adjourn, gratefully, for a restorative lunch.

Pride in his work plays a big part in Silvio's thinking. "My philosophy has always been to serve only things I would eat or drink myself: real food, cooked and served to the very best standard. Patrice has the same attitude, so we never argue about food. Always aiming for the very best you can do is not a very popular attitude in restaurants nowadays, but if like us you have passion, if you have enthusiasm, people catch it. They enjoy their food more, and they come back again."

And come they will, again and again.

The Vintners Rooms Restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. Reservations: 0131 554 6767 enquiries@thevintnersrooms.com  www.thevintnersrooms.com

Rettie & Co Ltd. Registered in Scotland No SC144330.

Registered Office Deuchrie, Dunbar, East Lothian, EH42 1TG.

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